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HCONRES 45119th CongressIn Committee

Recognizing the need to improve physical access to many federally funded facilities for all people of the United States, particularly people with disabilities.

Introduced: Jul 23, 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-Connecticut)
Civil Rights & Justice
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This House concurrent resolution expresses a non-binding policy stance: Congress recognizes barriers to physical access in federally funded facilities and calls for making accessibility a central, universal design principle in future infrastructure and federal projects. While not a law, it reaffirms support for the Architectural Barriers Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it highlights recent accessibility guidelines from the U.S. Access Board and the Department of Transportation. The resolution notes that, once the Department of Justice adopts these guidelines, they would become enforceable standards under Title II of the ADA. In short, the bill signals a broad congressional commitment to improving accessibility and guiding future infrastructure work toward inclusive design.

Key Points

  • 1Acknowledges that people with disabilities face daily barriers to access in federally funded facilities.
  • 2Reaffirms support for the Architectural Barriers Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, urging full compliance with those laws.
  • 3Places a pledge to make universal and inclusive design a guiding principle for all infrastructure bills and projects, with ongoing efforts to remove barriers to equal access to federal services.
  • 4Draws attention to recent accessibility guidelines from the U.S. Access Board (2023) and DOT (2024-2025), and notes that these guidelines could become enforceable ADA Title II standards once adopted by the Department of Justice.
  • 5Emphasizes equal access to federally funded amenities for all people, reinforcing the goal of inclusive design in public infrastructure.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- People with disabilities and the broader public who rely on accessibility in federally funded facilities; including aging individuals and others with mobility, sight, or cognitive needs.Secondary group/area affected- Federal agencies, designers, builders, and operators of federally funded facilities (architects, engineers, contractors, transit agencies, and facilities management) who would be encouraged to apply universal/inclusive design in projects.Additional impacts- Could influence future federal infrastructure policy and funding decisions to prioritize accessibility; may prompt alignment with the latest accessibility guidelines and potential DOJ action to adopt guidelines as enforceable standards under ADA Title II; possible cost considerations for retrofits or new compliant designs; broader emphasis on accessibility as a civil rights and public health priority.
Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 8, 2025